Tag or ticket seal.



M. O. ANTHONY.

TAG OR TICKET SEAL.

APPLICATION FILED 0012.12, 1912.

Patented Mar. 23, 1915.-

NEW YORK- INVENTUR Marcus O.Anih any.

ITTURNEYS ZIIIIIII!! WITNESSES: W j M/Q/ YHE NORRIS PETERS co.. PHOTO-LITHQ. WASHINGTON. n. C.

To all whom it may concern:

nurrn snares rarnur orurcn.

MARCUS 0. ANTHONY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO A. KIMBALL COMPANYQOF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF v NEW YORK.

TAG 0R TICKET SEAL.

Be it known that I, MARCUS O. ANTHONY, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of New York, borough of Manhattan, county and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Tag or Ticket Seal, of which the following is a specification.

This invention is a tag or ticket seal, more particularly for that type of ticket commonly used in department stores and on which are marked the stock number and price of the articles to which they are attached.

Tickets now most generally in use comprise a sheet of cardboard, cloth, metal, or other similar material, of any desired size or shape, the same being detachably secured to the goods by suitable means, such as stitches, or metal fasteners.

All the sales tickets now usedare detachably secured to the article and the attaching means employed is of such construction that the ticket may, without any difficulty whatever, be detached from the article. and another substituted therefor, or m ght be taken off and applied to another article without leaving any evidence of such changes. Thus a ticket may be taken from an article of high ouality and placed on an article much inferior, wherebv the buyer is deceived and, while supposedlv buving the goods designated on the t cket, is pavingan excessive price for an inferior article.

It is not unusual in large department stores, for customers to surreptitiously remove a ticket from an expensive article and replace it by a ticket smilarlyremoved from an inferior or less expensive article. It will bemanifest that the aim' of such customers is to purchase the superior orexpensive article at the price appearing on the substituted ticket. therebv cheating the store to the extent of the difference in price between the superior and inferior article.

The present invention overcomes the disadvantages referred to in that it embodies a sales ticket which cannot be detached withouteffecting the destruction of a certain feature of the ticket. thereby precluding its reuse on another article, the modified appearance of the ticket. due to the destruction specified, clearly indicating that the ticket has been tampered with.

The invention embodies more particu- Specification of Letters Patent.

and not as defining the tion.

Patented Mar. 23,1915. Application filed October 12, 1912. Serial 0. 725,364.

to be marked, and sealing means so positioned that any tampering with the'securing means, Wlll leave unmistakable evidence of such tampering.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated one practical embodiment of the nvention, but'the construction shown therein is to be understood as illustrative, only,-

limits of the inven- Figure 1 is a face view of a ticket, positioned on a portion of the article to be marked. Fig. 2 is a view of the same taken from the other side of the article, showing the ticket in dotted lines, and my improved sealing means in normal position. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section taken on line 33 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a view similar to that shown in Fig.2, the sealing member being shown as it appears before being sealed. Fig. 5 is asection similar to the one shown in Fig. 3, the same being taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a transverse section through the assembled portions of the device, the same being taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 1. Fig. 7 is a view similar to Figs. 3 and 5. the same being taken through a modified fo m of the invention,

In the drawings is a ticket A. of the general form commonly used for marking fabr cs. It comprises a piece of cardboard or fabric having the firm name stam ed thereon. as ata, suitable space being left for the filling in of anv d ta desired. such as the stock number and selling price ofthe article.

The t cket A, is adapted to be secured to the article B. by anv suitable means such as st tches C. In order to preclude removal of the ticket after it is placed on the article B,

" means engages the sealing ticleB, positioned intermediate said members. The sealing member D,is so positioned relative to the securing means G, that said securing member D, about midway of its length and also extends transversely of said member. The elements of constructiton, when assembled in this manner, appear as shown in Figs. 4: and 5, of the drawings.

The outer side (Z, of the sealing member D, as considered when in the form shown in Figs. L and 5, is gummed so that, after the parts are secured together in the manner described, the upper portion 65, of the sealing member D, may be moistened and bent down, in a direction, indicated by the small arrows in Fig. 5, over the securing means, and into engagement with its lower portion 0Z The gummed surface d of the upper portion of the member (Z, immediately adheres to the lower portion d thereof, whereby said portions are retained against pulling apart. When thus secured, the only way to separate these members (Z and (Z without disrupting them, is to moisten them, whereby the gum is so softened as to allow the members to be pulled apart. To guard against such procedure, the firm name is printed on the back of the upper portion of the seal member, as at (F, the ink used for this purpose being of such character as to run or smudge, when broughtinto contact with moisture. It will thus be seen that an attempt to soften the gum by steaming or otherwise, will leave unmistakable evidence on the seal.

From an examination of the drawings, it will be seen that the free ends of the securing means C, are incased in the sealing member D, thus making it impossible to release said ends, preparatory to withdrawing the securing means C, without first separating the portions d and d2, of the member D, either by steaming the seal or disrupting the same. In either case, the seal will bear signs of tampering and the article, on which it is placed, will be under suspicion. It will, furthermore, be obvious that should the securing means C, be cut, as at the loops 0, 0, adjacent to the face of the ticket, to release said ticket, the out ends of the said means could not be removed from the seal, and other fastening devices substituted, 'without tearing or separating the portions of the seal.

A slightly modified form of the invention is illustrated in Fig. 7 of the drawings, in which a ticket, with the sealing means integral therewith, is shown. This ticket A, must necessarily be positioned near the edge of the article B, so that the sealing member D may lap over said edge and be engaged by the securing means 0. This form of ticket may be attached to the article in the same manner as the form shown in Figs/1 to 6, the sealing member D being positioned to be folded back on itself to conceal the attaching means in a manner similar to the member D of the other form. It is, therefore, plain that by no manner or means can the ticket be removed and another substituted therefor, without employing an entirely new seal, and, since these seals will be wholly in the possession of the rightful dealers, the fraudulent substitution of tickets will be rendered impossible.

In the foregoing description, I have set forth my invention as embodied in a particular form of ticket, but it will be understood that the principles involved are adapted for quite a general application, and l, therefore, do not wish to be understood as limiting myself, any more than the state of the art may require.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I claim'as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A new article of manufacture of the general type used by department stores for marking dry-goods, embodying a tag or ticket adapted to be positioned on one face of the goods, a sealing member adapted to be positioned on the other face of the goods in opposing relation to said tag, attaching stitches passed through the tag, goods, and sealing member whereby they are all secured together, said sealing member being adapt ed to be folded on itself to cover the adjacent portions of the attaching stitches and be secured in this position, thereby precluding the removal or substitution of the ticket whereby it may be folded on itself so as to cover the adjacent portions of the attaching stitches and be secured in this position by the adhesive, thereby precluding the removal or substitution of the ticket without disrupting the seal or the stitches and consequent detection.

3. A new article of manufacture of the general type used by department stores for marking dry-goods, embodying a tag or ticket adapted to be positioned on one face of the goods, a sealing member adapted to be positioned on the other face of the goods in opposing relation to said tag, attaching stitches passed through the tag, goods and sealing member whereby they are all secured together, said sealing member being provided With an adhesive on its outer face whereby it may be folded on itself so as to cover the adjacent portions of the attaching stitches and be secured in this position by the adhesive, thereby precluding the removal or substitution of the ticket Without disrupting the seal or the stitches and consequent detection, said sealing member be- Gopien of this: patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the ing provided on its face with material sus- 15 ceptible to moisture.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

MARCUS O. ANTHONY.

V Witnesses:

M. O. RODRIGUEZ, F. S. FITZSIMONS.

Commissioner 0! Patents,

Washington, D. G." V 

